Russia closes door to one Croatian diplomat

Russia has declared one Croatian diplomat persona non grata as a countermeasure in the escalating spy rift between Russia and the west.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned on Friday the ambassadors of all the western countries that expelled Russian diplomats over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK.

Russia is retaliating for the actions taken by western countries in solidarity with the UK by expelling 59 diplomats from 23 countries. Croatia's Ambassador in Moscow, Tonči Stančić, was told that no Croatian diplomat serving in Russia would be expelled, but the foreign minister's chief of staff, Rina Eterović Goreta, would be declared "persona non grata". This means she will not be allowed to travel to Russia on official business. Eterović Goreta’s father is Russia’s honorary consul in Split.

Russia said it was responding to what it called baseless demands for dozens of Russian diplomats to leave a list of mostly Western countries. On Thursday, Moscow ordered the expulsion of 60 US diplomats and the closing of the US consulate in St Petersburg.